We ate at Kastrol in September 2014- and I've been meaning to review it ever since as it was one of the most memorable meals we've eaten (while on travel or at home).
We took the suggestion of our food tour guide to venture far out of the city center to nearly the last subway stop in order to get there. After walking through the neighborhoods (thinking certainly we were going the wrong way), we finally arrived. Upon entering the restaurant, we were asked if we had reservations (we did not - the cozy, almost eat in kitchen like atmosphere didn't make us consider we'd need to book ahead). The look on our face elicited some sympathy from the hostess, who knew we must have come out of our way to get there. She excused herself for a moment and went to speak to a party of 3 at a large corner table.
As it turns out, she'd gone to talk to the owner, his wife, and their friend who was visiting from Canada. The owner invited us to join them at his table where we had a delightful time (and a mixture of conversation in different languages). We were not brought a menu - instead our wonderful server Lucas just keep bringing dish after dish of the restaurant's offerings. It was amazing. We had a trio of appitizers, wild boar (that the owner hunted himself) with a wonderful almost stuffing-like slice of monkey bread (that's the best way I can describe it), the most delicious gnocchi, 3 desserts, and a bevy of other wonderful dishes. And beer - of course there was beer. Our bill was under $60. We could not believe it - an experience like that at home would have cost easily three times as much.
We were the last diners to leave - after having enjoyed every aspect of the evening. We enjoyed talking to the owner and the servers about life as a local, and the food was top notch. To this day, this is the meal that comes to mind when I think about the best thing I've eaten. read more